Big Iris

Several months ago, Dr. John Kunkel Small of the New York Botanical Garden took a train ride through the Mississippi delta, looked out of the window with his knowing botanical eye at the lush growth of the southern swamps. Suddenly he saw something which made him want to stop the train--a swamp full of giant iris such as a Paul Bunyan might have planted. Soon as possible Dr. Small went back to the spot with two botanical friends. The iris grew seven feet tall, like young trees. They bore immense rainbow colored blossoms. The botanists floundered with difficulty about the swamp, uprooted several thousand specimens, sent them to the New York Botanical Garden.

Last week, Dr. Small returned to New York to take care of his gargantuan flower garden. Iris plants, of which there are more than 200 species, ordinarily do not grow taller than three feet. One of the smallest known, a Chinese variety, is only three inches in height. Dr. Small is afraid his transplanted iris will be stunted by the northern climate, will grow to be only about four feet tall. If they flourish, he plans a public exhibit next spring.

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